Eden to Sydney

2 hours after we anchored at East Boyd anchorage we called the
Volunteer Coastal Patrol and asked about a berth on the jetty in Snug
Cove. She was really helpful. She invited us up to their base when we arrived, for hot showers – we needed them. This was
a steep walk which we found challenging after 4 days fighting gales,
big seas and little sleep, but the reward of a hot shower was worth
the effort. The radio operator had just finished her shift when we finished showering and she
offered us a lift back to Lupi. So friendly!!!

We tidied up the saloon a bit - it
looked like it had been hit by a tornado a very ugly one at that -and
went to look for dinner because it was his birthday. We thought one of the restaurants near the
fishermans wharfs would be open – but no. This meant that we would
have to walk up the steep hill to the shopping centre . . . so we
struggled up the walkway to the town centre and the Fishermans Club.

The first Bundy did not touch the sides
going down . . . nor did my glass of champagne. We had a lovely
dinner at the club and nearly went to sleep at the table so we
decided it would be a good idea to go home. We staggered back to
the boat for a good night's sleep. Neither of us could remember what
we had eaten. Anything would have tasted good!

On arriving at the jetty on that first
afternoon we were helped to tie up by the crew of another boat. They
had been here for 3 months with engine trouble. We recognised this
boat as the boat we looked at in Victoria when we were thinking of
buying Lupari 2. It was Phencara. Stephen and Caroline were
friendly people and we shared coffee and several chats while we were
there. Greg helped Stephen with the engine but it was in need of
lots more work than we could help them with. They were still there
several months later.

During the weekend there were several
boats arriving and departing. Many of them were heading to Hamilton
Island for the race event. Some were heading south.

One of the local identities here is a pelican
which we have christened Mr Percival, after the pelican in ther story, Storm Boy.
He is a bit of a loner and does not socialise much with the other
pelicans. He has a dirty chest and spends time surfing on a small stony beach
near the slipway. He is quite entertaining and has become another one
of our bird friends. They all are really, they hover near a returning
fishing boat begging for any scraps that might be on offer. The
seagulls and the skuas argue and fight but the pelicans sit there
patiently with their big beaks open like buckets to catch any fish
scraps. It looks like they are saying “Throw it to me, throw it to
me”

We have been up the hill to the shops
nearly every day and it was a bit of a shock to find the shops shut
at 12 o'clock on Saturday.

The first few days of our visit to Eden
the weather was beautiful, calm and sunny and warm. We were able to
get our wet gear dry and air out the boat. Fresh air and sunshine on
bare skin was such a luxury. It was warm enough for t-shirts and
nearly warm enough for shorts. (21 degrees)

Eden is such a pretty little town and
it has a deep and dark history in whaling which is represented in a
very informative museum where we spent several hours one day before we left.

We were in Eden for nearly 2 weeks but eventually we had seen all that we wanted to see and it was time to move on